Your Highness
by howlters
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia isn't your ordinary princess. Instead of being known as 'Lucky Lucy Heartfilia' she'd much rather prefer being known as 'Just Lucy.' However, when walking down the streets of Magnolia one day, she bumps into a commoner — er, a rather handsome commoner. And everything changes for her from that point on.
1. the beginning

**A/N: **guysguysguysguys oMG I JUST HAD A STORY IDEA POP INTO MY HEAD SCREECHES — and yes i know i should be updating my other fics bUT i'm _reaally_ fired up for this one!

oops i should admit i haven't been watching the latest fairy tail episodes because well uh i guess you can say i've been caught up on other things — pfft who? dan and phil? /laughs nervously/ uhhh w-who're they /trips and dozens of phan photos fall out/

**summary: **Lucy Heartfilia isn't your ordinary princess. Instead of being known as 'Lucky Lucy Heartfilia' she'd much rather prefer being known as 'Just Lucy.' However, when walking down the streets of Magnolia one day, she bumps into a commoner — er, a rather handsome commoner. And everything changes for her from that point on.

**setting: **AU

/clears throat/ anyway well here we go! i hope you like it~

enjoy :)

* * *

I.

the beginning

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It's nearing 6:30 AM, and a certain blonde teen named Lucy Heartfilia is deeply asleep on her desk. It seemed as if she was working on something, for the countertop is littered with crumpled pieces of paper, and it seems as if she's fallen asleep on a sheet titled _The History of Magnolia_.

Her hair's a mess. It used to be in a bun, but that hairstyle was now long gone, replaced with a load of messy, curly, blonde hair that nearly covered the teen's face. It doesn't seem as she had noticed this, because there's a pile of rubber bands next to her signifying that she probably undid it on purpose.

A few moments passed, and the blonde made no sign of movement, except the slow rise and fall of her chest. It would've been peaceful enough, but then the clock next to her started beeping obnoxiously loudly.

_BEEP! _

_BEEP!_

_BEEP! _

The teen shrieked as she bolted awake, waking up with such force that she sent all the papers on her desk flying.

"AAAAH!" She yelled as she flung backwards, causing her to fall off her chair and crash onto the floor, which was luckily carpet. Her gown completely covered her face, leaving her cursing and struggling with pain as she pulled that part of the dress off her face so she could breathe.

Footsteps came rushing to her door, and she was still trying to think of a good excuse why she ended up like this until they swung open quite dangerously. Stunned, the blonde could only stay there stupidly as she gaped at the person standing in the doorway.

It was one of her fellow maids, Virgo. Her expressionless face peeked through the doors as she saw Lucy sprawled on the floor. "Your Highness, did you hurt yourself? I believe I heard you just now."

"Oh!" Lucy said, laughing nervously. "Uh, well ... This is my morning routine, Virgo. Nothing to worry about. It's perfectly fine. I'm okay."

Virgo didn't look convinced. "Should I tell Your Majest — "

"NO!" Lucy immediately said, eyes widening. She shot up as she waved her arms in desperation. "No, no. You don't need to tell Father. It's okay. I'm okay. Don't worry. Nothing to stress over about." Her father would kill her for this if he found out anything.

The pink haired woman cocked her head to the side. "I see. Would you like to punish me, Princess? I'm sorry for intruding on your morning routine."

Lucy shook her head. "No, no. Virgo, it's fine. You may be dismissed."

And with that, she bowed and left Lucy, closing the doors behind her as the blonde breathed a sigh of relief. She returned to her desk, which was covered with piles of paperwork and groaned loudly.

At least her clock was shut off now. Lucy grumbled to herself as she cleaned up the mess she made, and frowned at the paper she'd fallen asleep on, _The History of Magnolia_. Well, one of the benefits for being a princess was studying on her own.

Lucy wasn't exactly happy with it though. Sure, there were almost unlimited stuff she could get because of her royalty. But she didn't want to be _seen_ as a sophisticated princess who thought wealth was everything. Lucy preferred reading over dancing over that matter.

And don't even get her _started_ on her singing lessons.

It was hopelessly cliché enough for her to know that there were a lot of stories where the princess wants to be an actual person people could find normal, and not a rich princess who wanted everything. It was like a fairy tale.

Yeah, she'd been outside before. It wasn't like she was stuck in a castle throughout her whole life. She'd gotten a few odd glances from people that seemed as if they recognized her, but at the same time they didn't. After all, princesses don't go out in the common world as much. It made her relieved. She didn't like being swarmed around people.

With that, Lucy did her best to fix her hair. She couldn't really leave it the way she wanted to that much, after all royalty _did_ have its limits. She sighed as she placed her hair back into a bun and fixed her nightgown, hoping it didn't look as bad as she thought it was.

She walked over to her bed, noticing that there were stacks of books on the sheets. Lucy realized that they were the ones she was planning on reading at one of her best friend's recommendations. All of her friends came from different kingdoms — they were all very kind and understanding.

Some of the ones she could name at the top of her head were Erza Scarlet, Levy McGraden, Juvia Lockser, and Mirajane Strauss. All of them had their own weird personalities, but hey — they were her dear friends. She was grateful for having them in her life.

Lucy brushed a strand of blonde hair behind her ear as she observed her room, which was pretty clean now. Her room was pretty spacious and so was her closet, even though Lucy didn't much wear all the fancy gowns and dresses in there. Her desk was close to the giant windowpanes so Lucy could see what was going on outside of the castle and out to view Magnolia.

There were lots of rooms in the castle, and most of them were for the maids and servants and whatnot, but Lucy always insisted on her cleaning after herself. Sometimes they do need a break from cleaning and tidying up.

Her mother had died years ago, when Lucy was still a child. It had greatly saddened both Lucy and her father, Jude Heartfilia, for Layla Heartfilia were both dear in their hearts. However, Lucy's father changed. He became harsher and colder to Lucy, maybe because she reminded him of his wife.

Lucy knew that her father loved her, but he was just still suffering from heartbreak. He didn't have to take all his anger and sadness at her though. It was the only thing Lucy found unfair to her. But she still respected her father even though he brought her to tears most of the time.

She turned her eyes to the clock on her desk. The time read 7:00 AM. Lucy was about to hit herself with her book until she realized today was Saturday, meaning that she was free to do anything as of now.

All her previous feelings of being exhausted and miserable ebbed away and was soon replaced with a newfound joy as she pumped a fist into the air. "YES!" She yelled excitedly as she took the bun out of her hair and instead placed it as a side ponytail with a pink ribbon on it.

"No lessons today!" She exclaimed happily as she opened the closet doors. What should she do today? Maybe she'd go outside. It's been a while since she's felt the Magnolia breeze. Lucy was allowed to leave the castle on her own, even without permission from her father. It was because she'd already reached her teenage years, meaning she was clearly responsible for herself.

Lucy wasn't allowed to be out until after 12:00 midnight, meaning that if she was — her father would literally send out every soldier and guard he had to go and look for her. Which would be embarrassing enough. So of course, Lucy obeyed.

She picked the clothes that would most likely have her blend in with the crowd. A simple pink turtleneck sweater with a cherry red plaid skirt was good enough. She chose brown leggings to go with the outfit and pulled on her chesnut brown boots and studied herself in the mirror.

Not bad. This'll do. It was one of the things she'd read in one of her favorite books on how to stay undercover. Dress lightly, don't stand out. She nodded, pleased with herself, and made her way out of the room before pocketing her cellphone.

Lucy hummed to herself a tune as she made her was downstairs and into the large dining room, where her father was already at the long end of the other side of the table, seated in the most defined chair, staring seriously at his daughter.

"Lucy. You're going out today?" He asked, his voice cold.

Lucy took a seat on the other side of the table, into the Princess's chair, as she nodded. She looked up to meet her father's eyes. "Yes, Papa, I'm thinking of going into Magnolia today."

Lucy remembered her manners and began to eat delicately, like she was taught to. It kind of annoyed her, but well it was out of respect and politeness. Her father nodded and made no conversation as the two of them continued on consuming their meal.

Lucy then stood up after she finished, and she bowed to her father. "Good day, Papa. I'll be back before midnight tonight." She said as she picked up her purse and pushed in her chair.

"Good." He just said as he waved his hand to dismiss her, the servants cleaning up after her quickly. Lucy nodded as she made her way to the entrance, where a guard opened the castle doors for her.

The sight was amazing.

Even though it was just plain Fiore, this was still pretty breathtaking. The rows and rows of houses before her just made her feel excited about them. There was a slight breeze, and Lucy was happy she'd brought a sweater to keep her warm. It made her beyond happy about what she was going to see today.

"See you soon, Your Highness," one of the guards said — Capricorn — as he turned and gave her a smile. Lucy grinned back. She trusted Capricorn, he was one of her father's right hand men when it came to combat. She curtsied to him even though she wasn't wearing one of her gowns — and got into the carriage waiting for her.

Excited, she texted Levy — "Hey! No lessons today. Going out to Magnolia! I'm super excited!" — and watched the scene through her carriage as they made their way to the destination.

* * *

Soon, Lucy was dropped off, and after waving goodbye to her carriage, she began her quest in exploring Magnolia. Sadly, her friends couldn't quite make it today with her but she didn't mind.

She tried many things — there was a lot of great food in Magnolia, and she made several notes to give some of the recipes to the cooks back in the castle for they were just really magnificent.

Lucy had gotten a few strange recognition glances at her, some did a double take and shrugged as they continued on walking, but the blonde was nervous that someone would recognize her as who she really was. She was constantly asked what her surname was, and she stuttered and made up a fake one.

They were suspicious, but it soon stopped entirely. Lucy just wanted to spend the whole day not being bombarded with papparazi and commoners asking for her autograph.

She was just Lucy. Well, she wanted to be known as "Just Lucy." She didn't want to be "Lucky Lucy" of the Heartfilia royal family known for her good looks and peppy personality — she wanted to be a _Lucy_ everyone would see her as she truly was, a daydreamer and wannabe author.

It wasn't possible. Not everyone knew what the real personalities of each royal family member were. They had to basically have a secret identity. It was complicated enough for her. All this royalty stuff made her sick.

Lucy was thinking this as she watched the sunset before her. It had been a long and exciting day for her, and she was glad for this experience. She'd bought souveniers for her friends and a few of the desserts and food that she was planning on sharing later.

Lucy was told that the sakura trees here were really beautiful at night, and since this was one of her rare days out, she decided to go ahead and sit under one, wanting to see how beautiful they really were.

The blonde was trying to find one of the trees when all of a sudden, she _literally_ bumped into the person who was walking the opposite way.

Lucy fell on her butt as she squealed in pain as the other person yelped and seemed to land backwards as well. Judging by their voice, they seemed like they were a male.

The bag of sweets in her hands she were holding dropped out of her grip and crashed besides her, leaving her staring at them, a wave of shock and sadness washing over to her. But she attended to him first.

"Ack! I'm so, so sorry —" Lucy stuttered.

The other person chuckled. "No, no — it's fine —"

They both looked up at the same time, and both of their eyes connected.

It seemed as if a spark lit up between them, and that made them both not look away from each other right away. What was this connection? Lucy didn't know, but it made her a bit self-concious about herself. Sometimes people gave her this look if they recognized her.

But ... there was something different about this glance. It seemed ... As if she saw stars reflected in his eyes. Wow. Okay. That was weird. They immediately cut off their glances, embarrassed.

Lucy sheepishly stood while the latter stood up more quickly. She faced him and apologized. "I'm so sorry. I guess — I was walking too fast." She bowed her head shamefully as she cursed herself on the inside.

She studied him some more. He seemed to be just a regular commoner. He had _pink_ hair, goodness! She'd never seen such bright pink locks before. But it suited him well. He looked a year older than her and had a muscular built. He was donning a white scaly scarf and had a very warm smile. His onyx eyes glittered.

Lucy's heart skipped a beat as she glanced at him again. His eyes were really distracting, and she found herself staring into them as she flushed with embarrassment before turning away.

He seemed to be more relaxed about the manner. When Lucy looked up again, he was smiling gingerly. "No, I should apologize about the sweets." He pointed to the now destroyed bag. "I'll buy you some."

"What?" Lucy gasped. "No! I don't want to trouble you —"

He laughed as she stared, worried. "It's fine. I want to repay you." He held out his hand. "By the way, I'm Natsu. Natsu Dragneel. And you are ... ?"

Lucy panicked. She wasn't used to introducing herself to commoners so easily. But for some reason, Lucy knew she could trust him. It was like that unspoken air that confirmed it.

"Uh ... Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia —" she stopped as she watched his expression, which morphed into surprise, bewilderment, shock, confusion, surprise, then back to normal again. He laughed out loud.

"No way," Natsu said, pulling at his scarf. "There's no way you could be _the_ Lucy Heartfilia, of the Heartfilia family."

She pouted. "But I am! But ... why do you think otherwise?"

"This Lucy," Natsu grinned. "she's more bashful and shy rather than manipulative and cunning. It's like you two are the same person, but at the same time you're not."

Agitation rose. "Is that really what everyone sees me as?" Lucy grit her teeth. "See, this is what I mean! I hate this, people really don't understand — "

"Aha," Natsu interrupted. "But I do. I know the real you now, and we've just barely met haven't we?" He smiled at her. "Don't worry, Princess, I've got you covered. I'll pay for the sweets."

Lucy stayed there, absolutely stunned, as she gaped at Natsu. She huffed as she shook her head and sighed. "Well ... Thank you I guess. And just call me _Lucy_. Just Lucy would be perfectly fine for me."

He gave her a thumbs-up. "No problem, _Just Lucy_."

Lucy gave a loud sigh but she couldn't help but suppress a giggle.

* * *

He ended up buying her the same sweets again, much to her protests. It seemed as if Natsu didn't mind as much, but Lucy was still stuttering after he gave her back the bags of desserts.

"Just consider it my treat, there's nothing to worry about." Natsu had told her nonchalantly as he gently pushed her money away from him. "It's okay."

Lucy was still desperate to owe him back for his kindness. "I still haven't properly thanked you enough." He looked mildly surprised.

"Come see the sakura trees with me. I haven't been here much, so ... " she said, feeling her cheeks heat up. She looked away, feeling embarrassed once more. But Natsu grinned.

"Sounds good to me! I know a great place where we could see them."

With that, Lucy accompanied her new (friend?) to wherever the heck he was leading her. They were walking up the steps to a balcony and Lucy gasped as she could see the many sakura trees throughout the city.

"They're as beautiful as I thought they would be," Lucy smiled as she stared at one of the rainbow sakura trees, watching them quite intently. She turned to Natsu and grinned. "Thank you."

He waved her off. "I told you, it's no biggie." He flashed a grin towards her. "So, you've never seen these things before? Don't go out often, do you?"

"Well ... I don't have lessons on Saturday." Lucy replied, wondering why she was even telling someone she just met this information. "But when I do, I try to make the most of it."

A blanket of silence took over them before Natsu responded.

"I hope you made the best of it, then."

Lucy laughed. "Yeah, I guess I did." She continued to stare at the beautiful sakura trees, took a couple pictures with her phone, and after deciding that she had enough, she stretched.

"Well, I better head back now. My father'll be worried if I go home late. Thanks again — er, Natsu, right?" Lucy said as she shook his hand once more. He smiled and nodded.

"Mhm. I'm always at your service, Luce." He bowed playfully and Lucy shook her head and fought off a smile, before registering that he just now had _given her a nickname_.

They stared at each other in silence.

"Hey, uh, Lucy?"

Lucy blinked. "Yes?"

"Will I ... Will I see you again?" Natsu asked as he placed a hand behind his head bashfully. His other was stuffed in his pocket.

Lucy smiled. "I ... I think so."

His eyes lit up. "Can I get your contact number then? I mean, we're technically friends now and everything but I just — " he stopped midsentence. "I just want to see you again."

Lucy probably blushed, but the sky was already dark and she prayed to Mavis that Natsu didn't see her red face. "Uh, of course. It's here ... "

The two of them exchanged cellphone numbers and when they finished, Natsu looked more happier. "Well ... See you next time Luce! It was nice meeting you."

And with that, he left.

* * *

Lucy arrived home later that night, and she couldn't really stop smiling. The thoughts pf Natsu were constantly popping into her head, and she found herself stupidly smiling when she imagined his grin once more.

_Stop it, Lucy,_ she chided herself. _He's just a regular commoner._

_A handsome, regular commoner._

"SHUT UP BRAIN!" Lucy then said out of nowhere as she was coped up in her room. Immediately footsteps approached her door once more and this time, her adoptive sister Yukino Aguria poked her head in.

"Er ... Lucy?" Yukino asked, brown eyes widened in confusion. "Are you alright? I heard you from the other side of the castle while I was doing some cleaning."

"Oh, Yukino!" Lucy said. "No, nothing's wrong, but I have something for you." She reached over for the bag of sweets and gave her a small dessert, smiling. "I went to Magnolia today," she explained as her sister glanced at it with awe.

"Thank you, Lucy," Yukino smiled gratefully as she left the room, closing the door behind her. Lucy smiled. She loved her sister dearly.

She glanced at his name in her contacts. _Natsu Dragneel_. Why was he making her life so difficult? It wasn't as if she ... liked him or anything ...

Lucy turned tomato red at the thought, and decided she was just having weird daydreams about a guy she'd never have a chance with — wait, what?

The blonde blinked a few times before shaking her head. No. It was impossible. He was just a guy she just met today!

She sighed at herself in the mirror as she munched on one of the desserts she had — er, wait, Natsu had bought for her.

Maybe she'll see him again, sometime ...

* * *

**A/N: **what did i just write holy

okay well this took me three hours to publish and damn there must be a thousand typos in this thing but i'm too lazy to go back and fix it

i hope you guys like it! erza, levy, juvia, etc. will all be coming soon! :-)

-choco


	2. kingdoms

**A/N: **omg guys your reviews/favorites/follows etc. made me so so so happy! now i'm even _more _hyped up for this story, which is GREAT. thank you so much! it's funny because you should see my reactions — i literally squeal and once i fell off my chair ngl

shit ok i need to update more often but it's winter break now hella

uiuacoancnir I'M LISTENING TO FALL OUT BOY AS I WRITE THIS GUYS THEY'RE AN AWESOME BAND SCREAMS

**summary: **Lucy Heartfilia isn't your ordinary princess. Instead being known as 'Lucky Lucy Heartfilia' she'd much rather be known as 'Just Lucy.' However, when walking down the streets of Magnolia one day, she bumps into a commoner — er, a rather handsome commoner. And everything changes for her from that point on.

enjoy~

* * *

II.

kingdoms

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A few days passed since Lucy had met Natsu Dragneel — and oh, boy. For some strange reason, she couldn't actually forget about him. It was like her brain wouldn't allow her to get the image of his smile out of her head. And it was very distracting sometimes, mind you. During lessons one day she was staring out into the sky, trying to focus on something to paint or draw — but ended up smiling creepily as she glanced out into the open.

Well, that's what Aquarius yelled at her in the middle of her swimming classes. Lucy had to avoid the blue-haired woman's wrath as she tried to have herself afloat. Heck, Lucy didn't even know _why_ she had to take swimming lessons in the first place! Aquarius was a nightmare — and all she mostly did was tease Lucy for having no boyfriend. She went on and on about her's, making Lucy sick. Aquarius basically hated her, and Lucy was a tiny bit scared of her anyway.

...Moving on.

Lucy didn't mind her lessons, her teachers were slightly weird and unique in their own way but overall, she found them okay. Swimming was probably the one where she dreaded because of Aquarius, but well — that was okay too.

Some of the lessons were boring and uptight, like curtseying and proper manners of speak and how she acted as well. Lucy also had to stand stiffly until her back ached. Walking in heels was a _complete_ nightmare. Lucy broke at least one or more pairs daily. She tried her hardest though. She was constantly trying to get better at everything.

Lucy enjoyed reading about the _History of Fiore_, books were her favorite thing on her lit. Her bookworm friend Levy was also obsessed with them, as well — Lucy was secretly writing a novel and Levy had demanded to be the first to read it.

She'd promised her yes after Levy gave her the _infamous_ puppy dog eyes. She couldn't say no to them. Lucy hummed a tune as she rummaged through her bookcase to find something she could read out of boredom.

Speaking of Levy, Lucy's other friends from the same kingdom were coming over to pay a visit, for they didn't see each other as much as they wanted to. Her father had told her that they would be staying over for a couple of months since there was to be a meeting for all kingdoms pretty soon.

The castle was large enough for her friends to stay in seperate rooms, but they all agreed to stay and sleep in Lucy's, for they all missed each other very much. They would be to put their stuff in seperate rooms though. Lucy was beyond excited for her friends to come.

Meanwhile, the blonde frowned as she read through the many titles and words that popped out before her eyes as she searched for something to read. But none of these books was _the one_ she wanted to read. Maybe she'd look through the library... Hmm.

Lucy literally probably knew every single book she had, because she's _at least_ read all the books in the library _and_ in the ones in her room once or twice. Yep. That's how much Lucy spent time reading rather than wanting to act like a princess.

She was about to go look and do something else when — aha. Her eyes fell on a white book which clearly looked the newest out of all the ones she's seen. A book she hasn't read before? How interesting...

Carefully Lucy pulled it out and examined the cover. Oh, ha — it wasn't a new book. It was one of her favorites, actually, the big book of fairy tales. Virgo or someone must've saw the old book and replaced the cover, making it more presentable. Lucy loved fairy tales a lot, especially ones with happy endings.

They always made her feel warm and so satisfied. Lucy wished she could have a Prince Charming like the other princesses in the stories. He should be out there, somewhere...

She was going to open the book and read through it — when she heard her name being called. Lucy tore her eyes away from the book as she looked up.

"LUCY! Your friends are here!"

Excitement running through her body, the blonde set the book on her desk and quickly grabbed a mirror to see if her hair or just her in general looked all right. She smoothed out her gown and bolted out the room, grinning widely.

Down the staircase leading to the bottom floor, Lucy saw Yukino smiling and laughing with multiple people who were being escorted by the maids; probably to Lucy's room. Ahead she saw her father talking importantly with most likely the people who brought them.

Lucy let out a giant _whoop_ as she made her way down the stairs, picking up her skirts while grinning merrily as she joined Yukino who was greeting her friends. They all stopped talking as smiles replaced their chatter.

Hugs and cheers were all around the group as they were now reunited once again — Levy, Erza, Juvia, Mira, Cana, Lisanna, Wendy — ah, they were finally here!

"I missed all of you so much!" Lucy squealed as they looked at each other in awe. "Even if we did see each other a few weeks ago, haha."

Erza gave her a warm smile as she brushed her red hair out of her face. "We missed you too, Lucy. A _lot_ can happen in just a few weeks, actually." Lucy's eyes widened as the rest of the girls giggled.

"Really? What happened?" Lucy said, surprised. The girls all exchanged a knowing glance and smiled once more.

"We'll explain in your room." Erza replied, smiling mysteriously.

Lucy shared a glance with Yukino, who looked equally confused.

* * *

They all settled down in a circle inside Lucy's room as lucy gave them each the sweets she — er, Natsu bought (Lucy turned red at the thought). They all listened to each other as they dug through snacks and opened souvenirs.

"So, what happened that everyone's giggling about?" Lucy then said as she raised her eyebrows and nudged Levy, who was seated right next to her. The blue-haired girl smiled knowingly.

"So... We may or may not have met guys while we were out one time," Levy said, a smile spreading across her face. She stared off dreamily, a small smile across her face.

"YOU DID?" Lucy said, shocked. "Wow! What're they like?"

"They're really an interesting group of friends," Cana said pointedly as she gulped down some alcohol, laughing. "Me and Lisanna aren't smitten with any of them, but we've listened to the rest of the girls here about who they all adored."

"We don't adore them Cana!" piped up Levy, who's face was red.

Cana snorted. "Yeah, right! I saw the look in all of your eyes when you talked _and_ talked about them. Not that I'm complaining, they're pretty good stories."

"Who are they?" Yukino then said, in awe.

Mira responded. "Their names are Jellal, Gajeel, Laxus, Romeo, and Gray. They're all very nice, both in personality and looks. They know about us being... Uh, royalty and all that..."

Wendy had turned scarlet at the mention of the name Romeo, and Carla her white cat had meowed and rubbed against her as everyone shared a smile, knowing that Wendy probably liked him.

"Juvia thinks that Gray-sama is the most amazing human being on Earth!" Juvia said as she sighed dreamily — Lucy figured that she liked Gray, and she couldn't help but smile.

"Jellal's not too bad..." Erza said shyly as she looked away. Lucy could see the blush on her face and she suppressed a giggle. When Mira laughed, Erza shot her a look. "Like you had to say anything about Laxus!" Mira's face turned bright red.

"You guys are weirdos!" Levy laughed, but then Cana grinned.

The brunette poked Levy, who blinked. "Yeah, and who's the one talking about Gajeel all the time?" At this, the bluenette's cheeks turned red as she sputtered and shook her head.

Lucy couldn't hide in her laugh. "So, they're just regular people too, aren't they? Commoners?" She brushed a strand of blonde hair away as her friends nodded. They continued talking about each and every one of them when Levy changed the subject.

"Lu-chan, did _anything_ significant happen to you?"

Lucy nearly choked on her chocolate she was eating. Her first thoughts led to Natsu Dragneel, and she turned beet red as she thought about the pink-haired teen. Nervously she fanned herself trying to make herself cool down.

"I — uh, no." Lucy sputtered.

Her friends and Yukino all exchanged a look, a look signifying that they _completely_ did not believe whatever the blonde was saying. She laughed nervously. Levy's eyebrows raised, and suddenly everyone was looking at Lucy.

"Um... So, I _may_ have met someone too... ?" The blonde said slowly as she nervously avoided everyone else's gazes. As soon as she finished her sentence, they all erupted into gasps and shouts of glee.

"Lucy, liking someone!" Erza said, her tone full of surprise. "Has the world gone mad? You've never showed interest in someone _or_ turned red like this before!" Everyone nodded in agreement.

That part was true. When most of her friends (sometimes excluding Erza) fawned over an attractive person, Lucy honestly didn't. She never liked a guy as much, she usually spent her time reading rather than drooling over dreamy guys.

But... Natsu was different somehow. He'd found a way to make her just absolutely... Ugh. Whatever this strange feeling was, it made Lucy's heart do millions of jumping jacks whenever she thought of him.

"Er... I met someone named Natsu Dragneel," Lucy then finally said truthfully, smiling as she remembered what happened on their first encounter. "We literally bumped into each other at a park in Magnolia, and he'd bought me sweets after I dropped them. He didn't care if I was a princess — he just treated me as me."

Everyone smiled.

Yukino giggled. "That's so sweet of him to do that, isn't it?"

"He reminds me a lot like Romeo-kun!" Wendy said, surprised. "Maybe they all know each other and are connected to each other somehow... ?"

"It's not because you like Romeo, right?" Lucy teased, as Wendy turned bright red once more and stared shyly at the carpet. However, she shook her head.

"No... I really think maybe all of them are actually friends with each other. I think Romeo-kun mentioned someone named Natsu and how he looked up to him, but I'm not entirely sure about that..." Wendy looked in deep thought.

It was silent as they all processed this.

Erza spoke up first. "It's possible, actually. It's a small world."

"Juvia wants to meet Gray-sama again," Juvia sighed as she wiped several tears away.

Lucy placed a hand on her friend's. "I'm pretty sure, that one day... We'll all meet them again. I'm a hundred percent sure we will... Probably. It's all in a matter of time, isn't it?"

"Maybe one day..." Mira said wistfully.

* * *

The next day, Lucy's father allowed them to go out into Magnolia to go look around and get some souvenirs and things the rest of the girls might want to buy. No one had recognized them so far, and it was great.

Lucy was watching her friends throw crumbs and pieces of bread at some of the ducks in the pond before them, and was smiling to herself as she watched them do so. It was nice hanging out like this, ignoring all things she'd had to do as a princess...

It was a really nice feeling.

As Lucy continued to watch them feed the ducks, she suddenly felt someone crash into her. She yelped as they both crashed to the ground, both groaning in pain. Lucy pushed them off her immedately, and had frowned once she could see them clearly.

They seemed to be around the same age as her — sixteen, seventeen? And it was another male. He sat up and cursed, rubbing his head. He had rave colored hair and dark blue eyes. He also did _not_ have a shirt on, but he didn't seem to acknowledge that.

"Sorry, miss," he said in an apologetic tone. He stood up and stretched. He was pretty muscular. "You didn't get hurt at all, right? You're okay?"

"Uh, no, I'm not hurt at all, but..." She averted her eyes. "I suggest putting something on?" Lucy didn't look back, but a startled yelp had told her that he just realized he was half naked.

"Shit! Uh, I'm sorry — you see, this is pretty normal for me but — "

"You call walking around half naked _normal_?"

"No, uh — it's not like that, but it's hard to explain — "

A loud and very familiar voice then shouted, "GRAY, YOU IDIOT!" Both teens jumped at the sudden noise, Gray yelled something back at the direction it came from, but Lucy was too busy trying to find out why the name _Gray_ sounded so familiar —

"Shut up, Natsu! It's your fault I crashed into her!"

Wait. Wait. What?

Natsu? Lucy only knew one Natsu in her entire life, and that Natsu was Natsu Dragneel. But there was no way. There was absolutely no way that was _the_ Natsu she only knew. All of this was a coincedence. Some weirdos named Natsu and Gray who are just regular, normal people —

Someone slammed into Gray and she shrieked, jumping out of the way to see two boys wrestling on the ground in front of her. "AAAH! What are you doing!" Lucy yelled as she pried off one of the boys off the other.

Muffled cries and yells were made as Lucy finally successfully pulled off one of the teens, who couldn't move since Lucy was holding on to him. Her eyes were closed, but she backed up as far as possible as she let him go.

"What are you honestly doing, fighting in the middle of nowhere like this? Jeez, you two are really nuts you know — " at last, Lucy opened her eyes to see who it was — and nearly fainted.

Gray was frowning and had his arms crossed — but, holy. Natsu's onyx eyes were staring wide-eyed back at her, in both surprise and recognition. He looked just the same as ever — he was wearing his white scaly scarf again —

"Luce?" Natsu said, in awe.

"Lucy?" Her friends called, running over.

Dead silence. Then,

"GRAY-SAMA!" Juvia cried as she ran over to Gray, who did a double take and shuddered as Juvia clung to his bare arm.

Nevertheless, Gray looked beyond confused. "Juvia? What are you doing here?"

More silence followed.

Then Lucy heard more voices — of people arguing. They got closer, and Lucy could slowly make out about what their names were by listening to what they were saying. At the corner of her eye, Lucy saw Wendy, Levy, and Erza gasp.

"Romeo — this is all your fault, see look now they're making a scene — "

"Excuse me, all my fault? If anything, it should be your fault Gajeel — "

"You two! Stop arguing, Laxus'll be pissed when he hears about this — "

"Aw, shut up, Jellal, you're being a party pooper — "

They all stopped in front of them, and stared. Flashes of recognition appeared on the three boys' faces once they spotted Wendy, Levy, and Erza. One had blue hair and a red tattoo covering his eye. Another had jet-black hair and red eyes. The last one had black hair and looked the youngest out of the trio.

More silence.

"Holy crap," Gajeel then said, eyes widened. "I'm pretty sure I've seen you guys before." Levy looked like she was about to faint as she glanced at the taller teen. Lucy was beyond surprised — she definitely wasn't expecting to run into Natsu today.

Then after that, it was quiet once more as everyone gaped at each other.

"Alright, well — hey guys!" Cana then shouted, waving a wine bottle in the air. "Why don't we introduce ourselves again and clear up whatever the hell's happening?"

Natsu and Lucy shared a glance before Lucy looked away smiling, but not before seeing Natsu grinning sheepishly. She had found him again.

Yeah, there was a whole lot to clear up.

* * *

**A/N: **boop! there we have it ahaha,

i hoped you guys enjoyed this! and.. early merry christmas to you guys! i'll try to get to most of my stories as a christmas present for all of youu_  
_

hope i could have a relationship like natsu &amp; lucy one day.. maybe soon ;) lol

later skaters !

-choco


	3. stories

**A/N: **apologizes over and over for _extremely_ late update cries

**summary: **Lucy Heartfilia isn't your ordinary princess. Instead being known as 'Lucky Lucy Heartfilia' she'd much rather be known as 'Just Lucy.' However, when walking down the streets of Magnolia one day, she bumps into a commoner — er, a rather handsome commoner. And everything changes for her from that point on.

**disclaimer: **i don't own fairy tail,

enjoy~

* * *

III.

stories

.

.

.

Eventually, they all sat down at a cafe nearby.

Although it was quite... _awkward_, to be exact. There were plenty of silences and quick outbursts, but yet again _they barely knew each other. _So how were you supposed to act if you barely knew someone? It was quite challenging, especially since Lucy and her side of friends all were basically royalty — whilst Natsu Dragneel and _his _group of friends were commoners. Not exactly a situation you'd get in often, eh?

Erza ended up breaking the awkward silence by asking each of the boys how they were.

In which _yes, they did reply _(much to the girls' relief) and pretty soon all of them were chatting like they've known each other for ages. Which was great! Soon enough, everyone was being engaged into their own conversations with one another as they enjoyed the things they bought. They've also managed to get everyone's acquaintance, which was also good. Lucy was sure they'd all be really close one day.

Lucy smiled to herself as she stirred the straw in her iced tea, watching the ice cubes bump against each other in the glass. She took sips out of it and glanced at each of one of her friends, who were all talking to the boy they apparently liked, aside from Lisanna and Cana, who were laughing together. The thought of her friends knowing _his _friends somehow made her warm on the inside. It was a nice feeling, in all honesty.

Except short of one thing.

There was a certain freaking someone that wasn't engaged into _any _conversation whatsoever — and that certain someone was _also _seated next to Lucy as well. To increase the awkwardness, that certain someone also hadn't spoke a single word to anyone ever since they took a seat at this table. Would you like to take a guess?

It was _Natsu Dragneel. _

Just the thought of him made Lucy nervous. Heck, just his _presence _made her jittery and unfocused. She wasn't sure why, above all reasons. They'd texted each other a few times, and each time Lucy was super giggly when she did. Deep down she was excited to see what he was texting her. He really was a sweet person in general.

But today was the first time they'd seen each other in real life ever since she (forced?) him to see the sakura trees with her and he payed for the sweets when they've crashed into each other. Come to think of it, there was one thing Lucy was always curious about, no matter how many times she's gone over it. In deep thought, the blonde absentmindedly stirred her tea once more, as she watched Levy giggle about something Gajeel told her.

When Natsu and Lucy both crashed into each other — after the two of them had fallen and made eye contact — Lucy was sure she saw _something._

It was really hard to explain, and even Lucy herself smiled at the thought of it, but she was almost sure she felt some kind of strange connection once their eyes met. What did that mean? It was something that Lucy was just downright curious about. It had never happened to her before... maybe she _was _just imagining things...

As the blonde sipped the tea from her drink, she frowned. _But what if Natsu felt it too? _Was it actually possible for him to actually feel that strange connection too? Lucy cocked her head to the side as she blinked. _Maybe not... _After all, he was a guy and she a girl. And she knew that she was probably daydreaming at that point anyway, after all they did have different ways of thinking. She shrugged it off, but the thought still remained in the back of her head.

"Hey, Luce?"

Said girl jumped at the sound of the voice, and recognized it almost at once. Well, there was only one person who called her that anyway, and it was Natsu. She turned around to face him, who was seated on her right. His eyes were slightly widened, and his head was cocked to one side — so he appeared to look like a confused puppy. Lucy inwardly giggled at his expression and gave him a polite smile back.

"Yes?" Lucy said, raising her eyebrows in reply.

He gave her a crooked smile, and Lucy nearly choked on her iced tea. "What's up?"

"What's up?" She repeated, slightly dazed as she figured out how to respond to that. "Well... um... I, well, it's just... the regular errands, I guess."

"Errands?" Natsu then said, sounded mildly interested. "Princesses have things to do also?"

Amused, Lucy nodded. She grinned shyly at Natsu's curious expression, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, yes, how do you think we're supposed to go around not doing anything for the whole day? I still have lessons and such, you know — I guess it's similar to what you guys call a school. It's just I teach myself most of the things I need to know, I love reading of course — but I have lessons on swimming, dancing, curtseying, and stuff like that."

He looked awed. Natsu ran a hand through his spiky pink hair before responding. "Wow, that's cool. It seems fun when you put it that way." He took a small bite of his sandwich he had ordered and sighed as he stared at it, frowning. However, he was smiling as he looked back at her again, his gaze softened. "The way you talk about it, you sound really... princess-y."

Slightly taken aback, she went on. "Princess-y?"

"Like — " Natsu said, then smiled once more. "The way you talk, you sound so intelligent. I find that endearing."

The blonde returned to her iced tea, but not before feeling her face erupt with slight embarrassment and in awe. It was the first time someone had told her that her manner of speaking was actually nice and appealing. Shyly, she muttered a thanks as she stared down at her drink, her face still burning. Then again, describing something as princess-y made her laugh at the thought.

"But surely, you do also have things to do, rather than education...?" Lucy then asked this time.

Natsu snorted in response. "Yeah, of course. School's not everything. I do some sports — football, baseball, all that. But I'm not much," he said hastily, as he caught sight of Lucy's amazed expression, "I just do what I do and it seems that I'm good at it. Other than that, my life's pretty boring. I think your kind of lifestyle would be better — "

" — maybe not," Lucy said darkly. She turned to Natsu and frowned. "Royalty may seem nice and all, but in reality... it can be pretty stressful. I don't like bragging that I'm a princess and things like that but — sometimes I don't enjoy it. Those little things you guys do, shopping and all that — I think that's the best thing in the world. To spend time with your friends and not have the burden of being in heir to the throne..." she finished wistfully.

Natsu didn't say anything in a while, but he straightened up and placed his hands at the back of his head, looking slightly amused. "You know, you're probably the most interesting person that I've met."

Lucy couldn't help but smile at his statement. "Well, thanks."

"I mean," he continued. "all the regular things _we _do, you find amazing. I find that interesting. And all the things you consider normal... to others, they find it close to their wishes coming true. It's weird how some things work, don't they? Sometimes we wish to have a different lifestyle when we're bored with the one we're living with."

"Makes you think it'd be nice to switch lives, wouldn't it?" said Lucy, now smiling, as Natsu rolled his eyes playfully.

They sat in silence as their friends continued to chat.

Natsu stirred next to her, and Lucy faced him, eyeing him carefully. "Are you supposed to have a proper way of speaking too? When I said 'what's up' earlier, you seemed slightly confused." He grinned. "That's pretty weird, isn't it? We're all humans but we have different lifestyles, and thoughts."

"Hmm." Lucy said in reply, tapping her chin lightly. "Well, yes, I've been taught manners and those little things I'm supposed to know — how I hold my forks, the way I'm supposed to speak, things like that." She let out a long sigh and finished the rest of her iced tea. "Sorry if I burst out in proper speak, though. It's just habit."

It was silent for a few moments before Natsu spoke up again.

He chuckled. "I've been thinking... it's a stupid idea, but maybe I should take you to one of my games one time."

Surprised, Lucy blinked. "What?"

"You know, uh, games. Football. Baseball. So you could see how these kinds of things work, maybe?" Natsu suggested, sounding a bit nervous. "I'm sure it'll be fun. And I can take you to the mall afterwards, too. So you could see what kind of things we do for a change! That'd be an adventure, wouldn't it? You seem like you want to know more about the commoner world." He grinned widely, as Lucy nodded vigorously.

Lucy's eyes widened with excitement. "You think so? That's amazing! Yes, that would be great!"

Natsu smiled, looking pleased with himself as he finished his sandwich. "So... it's official?"

"Yes!" the princess replied, grasping her hands together. "Ooh, wow, you'd have to show me everything, Natsu! I can't wait for it!" She grinned at Natsu, who flashed her a bright smile back. He looked equally enthused too, for his eyes were glittering as they looked back at each other once more. "Yeah, and I'll show you the shops we normally visit — "

"Natsu!" Gray's voice then said, alerting them both. Looking around, Lucy realized that the rest of her friends were smiling slyly at her, while Natsu's friends looked on the verge of teasing him. It suddenly dawned on Lucy that the two of them were the only ones talking and conversing. Her cheeks burned, and she bit her lip in embarrassment._ How much did they hear... ?_

"Did you just ask _the _Lucy Heartfilia _out_?"

Natsu and Lucy both looked at Gray, goggling in shock and embarrassment, and back at each other — flushing furiously. Lucy felt like her face was on fire, and she continuously fanned herself as Natsu had a light pink tinge on his cheeks. Then they both blurted out at the same time:

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!"

Cana whooped victoriously for Lucy as the blonde buried her face in her hands, face heated — as besides her, Natsu was yelling hoarsely at Gray. This earned many worried and odd looks from passersby and in the cafe window, Lucy was sure she saw the cashier talking to someone and pointing at their direction.

" — YOU IDIOT, IT'S NOT LIKE THAT — "

" — Yeah, right, tell me that _after _I clearly heard you ask her out — "

" — ARE YOU FREAKING DEAF, YOU STRIPPER — "

" — WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME — "

" — DO YOU WANNA GO — "

" — COME AT ME — "

Both teens jumped at each other before anyone reacted — pretty soon Gray's shirt (and pants) were off, punches were thrown, and loud insults were heard. Still furiously blushing, Lucy sank lower into her seat as she heard Jellal, Gajeel, and Romeo yelling at the two boys to stop fighting. Eventually Erza joined the fray, and shit went down from there. Erza easily had beat up the two boys and tore the two teens apart, fuming.

"YOU IDIOTS, FIGHTING LIKE THIS — " Erza roared, swinging the two teens towards the brick wall several feet away from them — Lucy watched, mortified, as Natsu and Gray slammed into it and crashed to the floor, looking as if they were unconscious —

A red-faced Wendy holding Gray's clothing articles just about fainted, and was caught by a distraught Romeo. Meanwhile, Juvia marveled at the unconscious Gray (who fortunately was wearing boxers) — a tick mark appeared on Mira's forehead, and Laxus promptly turned away. Jellal, extremely embarrassed, was cowering under the table and was muttering how his life was miserable.

Erza continued to yell at both Natsu and Gray — who surprisingly had gained consciousness once more, and were now on their hands on knees, apologizing to the frustrated red haired teen. Lucy sank even further down her chair as she caught sight of Levy facepalming and Gajeel looking quite annoyed at the scene. Approximately fifteen minutes later, the manager had grabbed a megaphone and started yelling at everyone to _stay where they were or they would call the police._

In the end, they all got kicked out.

"I saw that coming," groaned Romeo as he carried a limp Wendy on his back.

* * *

Later, both Natsu and Gray still were shouted at by Erza.

This time slightly amused and less mortified, Lucy looked on as the two teens seemed on the verge of tears as in fear of Erza. It seemed like they've all knew each other before, and this was a normal thing. When she had stated this out loud, she was informed that she wasn't wrong — these sort of things _did _happen in the past, although they've never found a way to actually make the two of them stop. In the past, Jellal, Romeo, Gajeel, (and occasionally Laxus) would just leave and pretend to not know who they were.

(Privately, Lucy thought she would've done the same. It was already enough that she had to deal with avoiding people that she thought would know her.)

Jellal informed Lucy that he was pleased there was someone in the world that had their way of controlling them.

Lucy smiled back and told him that it wasn't wise to get on the bad side of Erza, which he seemed to understand.

The day was really action packed in the end. After an hour of shouting, Erza had calmed down and forgave them — but not after demanding that this wouldn't happen again, into which Natsu and Gray said "AYE!" in unison. A shaken Wendy then returned Gray's clothing to the owner, as he yelped when he realized that he had lost his clothing (leaving everyone facepalming at his attitude, and a heart-eyed Juvia).

Eventually, they all bade each other goodbye — it was well after sunset, and Lucy still needed to go back home to the castle along with her friends. It wasn't a sad goodbye, however — each of them were sure that they'd see one another in the future.

Natsu approached Lucy as Gray tried to pry himself from Juvia's grip ("Juvia will see you again, Gray-sama! And Juvia will love you even more the next time we meet!") and pulled her aside to talk to her privately, mentioning the subject from earlier that he had brought up. His onyx eyes were warm and friendly as he looked down on her, he being the taller of the two.

"I just wanted to say... that it _is _official, isn't it?" Natsu said quietly. "About the game and mall, and all of that?"

"Yes!" Lucy said eagerly, at once — although turning a light shade of red at the memory of Gray assuming that Natsu had asked her out — really, did he do that? The blonde wasn't too sure herself, but she knew she'd be looking forward for their plans. "Yes, I can text you to see what day I can make it..."

Natsu looked happier, and he was smiling even wider as he ran a hand through his hair. "That's great! Awesome... I can't wait."

"Me either," said Lucy, and the two of them shared a smile. "And by the way, I have to admit... being kicked out, it seemed... like an adventure, y'know?"

The pink haired boy's eyes widened, and he laughed. "Really? I'm glad! Now you got a taste of what fun feels like, don't you?" He beamed at the blonde, who smiled back at him in return. The two of them continued to stare at each other before a loud voice snapped them out of their gaze.

"Hey, Natsu-nii! It's time to go, what'll Igneel say if you turn up late again?" Romeo said, waving enthusiastically at the older teen, who rolled his eyes.

He shouted, "Dad's not gonna worry long, I'm going home earlier than usual." Then he turned back to Lucy, and hesitated slightly. Then, he wrapped his arms around Lucy and pulled her in for a quick embrace. Shocked, Lucy blinked against his chest before he let go. It felt strong, hard. The blonde blushed at the thought and was still red as he let go, clamping his hands on her shoulders.

"See you later, Luce!" said Natsu as he waved a goodbye, running off with the rest of his friends.

She could see his smile even if he was several feet away.

Smiling, she waved back.

However, as she turned to face her friends, _all _of them were smirking and snickering. Levy and Mira giggled as they both wrapped their arms around Lucy, leaving the blonde's eyes to widen with fear and embarrassment of what her friends were going to say. "Seems like someone's feeling something special for a certain pink haired boy~" the both of them cooed as Lucy flushed a dark shade of red.

"H-H-Honestly, it's not like that!" Lucy squealed. "I mean sure, he suggested for me to go and see one of his games, and offered to take me to the... the mall afterwards, but _it's not like that, I swear _— oh, stop laughing you guys, it was just a simple hug too!" she said hopelessly as her friends all 'aww'ed and made kissy noises, leaving a mortified Lucy to hide her face in her hands again.

"A simple hug, my ass!" snorted Cana.

"Come on Lucy, don't deny it~" both Levy and Mira giggled.

Erza and Wendy exchanged a knowing glance as Juvia nodded.

"You guys — !" Lucy grew even redder as she remembered the fact that _Natsu Dragneel had just hugged her, _and she didn't say anything in response — unable to say _anything, _in fact. She had never blushed so much in her entire life. This was a first.

Her friends understood, but they were still giggling.

Lucy laughed nervously, but as she went through the events that happened through her head, she let out a long sigh, and smiled to herself.

After all, her life just got even more interesting.

* * *

**A/N: **oops sorry for posting this late cries,,,

aND I'M SO SORRY IF THIS SUCKS/OR IF IT WAS RUSHED/oR IF THERE WERE TOO MANY SPELLING ERRORs I HAVE SCHOOL TOMORROW AND STUFF BUT YEAH I HOP E YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER ILY GUYS

i'll be uploading the rest of my stories later in the week. thanks again XD

-choco xx


	4. date?

**A/N: **yo hi i haven't updated this for like two months and i feel super guilty but i don't feel like getting my other stories up to date (cause i updated most of them already) soooo here we are

**summary: **Lucy Heartfilia isn't your ordinary princess. Instead being known as 'Lucky Lucy Heartfilia' she'd much rather be known as 'Just Lucy.' However, when walking down the streets of Magnolia one day, she bumps into a commoner — er, a rather handsome commoner. And everything changes for her from that point on.

**disclaimer: **disclaimed

enjoy!

* * *

IV.

date?

.

.

.

Lucy anxiously fidgeted as she waited for Natsu at the park where they decided to meet.

The blonde wasn't sure if it was a _date, _in particular — she dressed a little nicer than her usual casual commoner outfit, but she didn't wear her frilly, lacy dresses that she always stumbled in. Of course not... she knew her standards. Instead she'd chosen to wear a short blue pleated skirt with ankle-high boots. For her top, she wore a white hoodie, leaving it unzipped — and under it, a light pink t-shirt with the infinity sign on white print on it. She hadn't really done anything with her hair, she'd just left it in her original side ponytail hairstyle. Yukino had helped with her decision as well, and Lucy was thankful for it.

Maybe she dressed _too _nice? She was starting to earn odd looks from strangers (maybe they recognized her, Lucy shivered at the thought), and the blonde bit her lip nervously as she waited for Natsu to come. He wasn't late; it's just that Lucy had a habit of arriving places earlier than usual. She's starting to regret coming so early until she hears a familiar voice calling her. "Hey! Hey, Luce!" Alarmed, she turns around, only to meet Natsu, who's grinning as wide as ever. Lucy breaths out a sigh of relief as she takes in the other teen, who's jogging up to her. She brushed a strand of blonde hair across her shoulder.

Natsu's wearing his white, scaly scarf that hung around his neck, and just a simple white t-shirt (with a fire design on it) and khaki pants, along with red converse. "Yo, hi!" He flashed her a wide grin and smiled as he looked down at Lucy, who was blinking back at him in slight confusion. "Oh, sorry!" He explained. "Turns out that the game against the other team, Sabertooth, was cancelled... it sucks, 'cause I was supposed to show you how games work."

"Ah, it's fine!" Lucy said, shaking her head. She clutched her purse she was holding tightly in her hands. "It really is."

His gaze softened. "That's good. Anyway, I can still take you the mall or whatever. Anywhere in particular you want to see?"

Lucy frowned, as she tilted her head to the side. _Was there anywhere in particular? _"No, not really... if you can take me to places that usually other people would go, I think that would be fine by me." She smiled brightly at Natsu, who grinned back. He clasped his hands on her shoulders and nodded excitedly, as Lucy's wide chocolate brown eyes looked into his deep, onyx ones.

"That sounds great." He laughed. "Of course I will!"

He gripped her wrist and ran off like that — Lucy yelping in surprise.

* * *

"_Whoa!_"

Natsu had stopped running in front of a _giant _mall, the blonde halting to a stop behind him.

No... maybe giant was an understatement. But seriously, holy Mavis this thing was huge. It was maybe even bigger than or equivalent to Lucy's castle. Either way it was still very magnificent — Lucy couldn't tear her eyes away from it. With a grin on her face, she watched as teenagers, adults, and children poured inside and outside the mall, it was like nothing to them. They probably saw it everyday.

But for Lucy... _wow. _It looked amazing.

She turned to Natsu, who was grinning sheepishly next to her. He'd let go of her wrist, the princess had noticed. She refused to admit that she wanted him to hold on to her wrist just maybe, a little bit more, just to help her feel secure. Lucy bit her lip in slight embarrassment, and met his onyx gaze. He looked perfectly happy. "So, do we just go inside?"

"Yeah!" Natsu grinned. "You've been to a mall before, right?"

Lucy nodded slowly. "Yes, but... it's never been this big."

The pink haired boy didn't say anything, but he grinned even_wider, _if that was even possible. During the times Lucy actually _knew _Natsu, she knew for a fact that he was a full on smiler. He smiled a lot, and smiled everywhere at everyone. He'd always greet her with a smile. Leave with a smile. Start a fight with a smile. It was like a conversation starter — something Lucy knew that she wasn't capable of _doing. _

He was interesting. Pink hair, tan skin, onyx eyes, white scaly scarf — you don't get that every day. _Especially _the pink hair. His hair was one of the things Lucy couldn't stop looking at. She wondered if it was dyed, or just natural. But she liked that about him. She liked that Natsu was an interesting person. Interesting people never get boring, do they? And Lucy figured, as she smiled to herself, that she would never ever possibly get tired of Natsu. He had that aura that radiated happiness, impulsiveness, childishness, and just his personality in general.

Maybe that didn't make sense, but Lucy herself didn't really understand what she was thinking half the time.

She grinned at Natsu, who was still beaming back at her.

"Ready to go on an adventure?" He asked teasingly, offering her his arm.

The blonde giggled as she laced her arm into his. Maybe she could get used to these kinds of things. Hanging out, making friends, being with people unlike herself. After all, being a princess doesn't mean you have _everything _in the world. Lucy's not a manipulative person, and she never wanted to be one. It made her feel bad, and that she was stealing from other people. She met Natsu's eyes, and his eyes seemed like they were smiling back at her.

_Seriously. _Even Natsu's eyes smiled.

She couldn't help but blush as they made their way inside, though.

* * *

Later that day, Lucy was definitely not disappointed.

Her and Natsu took pictures at photobooths, ate delicious food at various places, and went to almost every shop in the venue. All of it was amazing. Lucy couldn't seem to stop smiling. It was also probably the most fun she'd had since... well, ever. She feels bad for admitting that it's more fun than when her actual best friends come over, and they're always hyped up and energetic too. But really, Natsu was really nice. He bought her some things, and was really sweet to her.

It was wonderful.

As the two of them walked to and from the shops lined up along the mall, she couldn't help but blush. _Was this an actual date? _It sure seemed like one — after all, it was just the both of them, and none of their friends were around. She was also fairly comfortable with him now, maybe he was possibly her closest guy friend so far. They also probably _seemed _like a couple — at one store, the cashier offered a couples discount and Lucy wasn't able to say anything (she was too busy blushing furiously) and on the other hand, Natsu just waved it off and politely declined it.

She vaguely remembered Gray telling her once that Natsu was a "_completely dense idiot_", but maybe he's wrong. Natsu doesn't seem dense, not really. But then again she did just meet him a month ago, and Gray knew him more than she did. That was an obvious fact, and despite the many texts Natsu and Lucy had exchanged, she didn't know him as well as his other friends did.

The blonde didn't notice when he stopped walking, so she kind of tripped over her own foot as he halted.

"Ah, something the matter?" Lucy piped up, blinking up at him.

Natsu grinned. "Sorry, I've just got to use the restroom." He nodded to the sign up above them, which indeed read "_Restrooms_". Lucy giggled, and smiled at him, even though he still wasn't looking, instead squinting at the door which had the men's sign on them. He looked back at her, and sighed. "Well, I don't want to leave you outside just waiting for me, so I guess you can go into the store next to this one and I'll meet you there when I'm done."

"Oh, that's fine!" The princess said, in response, as the two stepped away from each other.

He ran a hand through his hair. "Don't get lost!" Natsu remarked teasingly.

"And don't take too long!" Lucy shot back, smirking.

The last thing she saw was him grinning as he shook his head, opening the door leading to the men's restroom. Even though Natsu wasn't there anymore, she found herself smiling at the restroom door, before she turned away promptly, walking into the store where he'd told her they'd meet up eventually. It was a nice clothing store; and there were a fair amount of people looking at different kinds of shirts and other clothing articles.

Lucy was eyeballing a particular cute tank top ("Follow your dreams!" the text read) when she heard a voice behind her.

"Excuse me, miss?"

Slightly startled, the blonde let out a little squeal, unfortunately dropping her purse she was carrying in her hands. The owner of the voice (assuming from the tone, she figured that the owner was of the male gender) had stooped down, looking for the dropped purse that had fallen. Embarrassed, Lucy grinned sheepishly at him — he was still busy looking for it. She opened her mouth to say it was fine, but then at that same moment; he straightened up, Lucy's purse in his hands.

It _was _a boy! More like a teen, to be exact — maybe he was around the same age as her? He had spiky, blonde hair and bright blue eyes. There was also a scar on one of his eyebrows, and an earring on one of his ears. Lucy blinked at him. He looked vaguely familiar; like she saw him on a newspaper or somewhere. He was wearing the store's uniform, a dark blue button up with rolled up sleeves and black skinny jeans, along with dark blue tennis shoes. The name tag on his shirt read '_Sting_'.

He didn't say anything at first, he just raised an eyebrow and offered Lucy her purse.

"Thanks..." The blonde muttered, taking her purse back from him, feeling slightly uncomfortable. His blue gaze was a bit intense, and it was unnerving her. She cut her eye contact with him, and continued staring at the tank top, feeling her face warm up because of her slight stress. _What if he recognized her? _

Then he spoke up again. "Um. Do you need help with anything...?"

"No...?" she said slowly, still refusing to look at him.

A couple of moments dragged by, but he still didn't leave. And it was stressing Lucy out, honestly. And where the hell was Natsu, anyway? The restrooms were located _right _next to this store — wherever this place was. As if on cue, a sudden new voice startled her. "Hey, Luce!" It said, and Lucy whirled around in alarm — just in time to face a grinning Natsu. Behind her, Lucy heard the teen — Sting, was it? — shift around, and she tensed up again.

"_Natsu. _What took you so long?" She demanded, frowning.

"There was a long line." He said, furrowing his eyebrows. "Anyway, are you ready to go? Did you get anything?"

Lucy cleared her throat awkwardly. "Uh. I. No."

He opened his mouth to speak, but then caught sight of the silent teenage boy who was _still standing there_. Honestly! Lucy backed away and took a few steps more towards Natsu, as he raised one of his eyebrows, taking in the presence of the third person. Then he broke into a grin, and held a hand out, as if he was going to shake the other boy's hand. "Sting! You work here?"

The blonde raised her eyebrows — both in surprise and apprehension. _He knew him? _

Adding to Lucy's surprise, Sting also smiled, and nodded. "Natsu-san." He said, taking Natsu's hand, and shaking it. "What are you doing here today?" Sting asked, tilting his head. His blue eyes were unreadable — and Lucy shuddered. This guy was kind of creeping her out. And how did he know Natsu? And _why _did Natsu know him? WHAT. But then again, it was a small world, after all...

"Oh!" The pink haired teen said. "I'm just here escorting a friend of mine." He motioned over to Lucy, who nervously waved at Sting. His blue eyes met her own, and Lucy couldn't help but tear away from his glance again. Maybe he _did _recognize her. She tugged on Natsu's scarf, and even though it was unnoticeable, Natsu clearly got the message. "And, uh, I've gotta go. See ya later, Sting."

"Bye," Sting said, still glancing at Lucy. Then he turned away and walked off, taking his place from behind the counter.

When Natsu and Lucy were alone (one again), she tugged on his scarf again, this time a bit harder, and Natsu got it. The two of them walked out as fast as they could, and Lucy didn't even notice one of the workers telling them to "Have a nice day!". She acknowledged it, but there were more important priorities to go through right now. Once they walked away a satisfying distance, Lucy turned to him.

"You know him?" Lucy said, her voice laced with panic.

He nodded in reply. "Yeah, he goes to Saber. I've played against his team, and he's an acquaintance I guess. Why?"

"Cause I think he recognized me." The blonde breathed out, her eyes widened. "I guess he wanted to ask if I needed any help with getting clothes, cause well, he works there, that's what they're supposed to do, right? But I dropped my purse and he picked it up for me and he kept looking at me and I just — " at this part, Lucy took in a deep breath, and sighed, her heart pounding. " — I'm just scared that he'll tell someone that he _saw _me, and I'll be getting run over by paparazzi any minute now."

"Luce." Natsu then said seriously. "Lucy, calm down."

"I can't," Lucy muttered. "My dad's going to kill me if he finds out."

"You're not allowed to go shopping?"

"No, I am, it's just — he wouldn't approve of someone noticing me. I'm supposed to _lie low, _if you know what I mean."

Natsu didn't say anything, but he clasped his hands on her shoulders, steadying Lucy. She didn't realize she'd been shaking until she felt herself calm down again. She took several deep breaths as Natsu looked into her eyes. "Luce. Listen to me. I don't know Sting all that well, but I don't think he's that kind of person. He's not going to spill the beans and tell everyone he'd seen you. Trust me. I'll make sure it doesn't happen at school, either. I promise."

At his words, Lucy managed a shaky laugh. "Thanks... Natsu."

"No problem. But really. You're one of my friends now, too." He grinned at her again, and then let go of her shoulders.

She gave him a small smile in return.

* * *

They continued shopping for a little bit.

After buying their final product — two ice cream cones, it wasn't too hot or too cold — the two of them walked out of the Magnolia Mall together, and both sat down on a bench near the mall, close to a park. The sun was setting, and the sky was a pretty orange-red color. In front of Natsu and Lucy there was a fountain, and several kids were playing around it. Lucy couldn't help but smile as she watched the small children play, a giggling and screaming mess.

Besides her, Natsu was licking his strawberry ice cream. "You know, it was fun today."

"I was going to say the same thing." Lucy giggled, besides him, licking her own vanilla ice cream. "It was enjoyable."

The two of them sat in comfortable silence for a while before saying anything again.

"We should do this more often." Natsu then said, glancing at her.

Lucy smiled. "Yeah, huh? But maybe not _too _often, I have certain days when I can't go out and do these kinds of things." Natsu chuckled lightly, besides her, and adjusted his scarf a bit before saying anything again.

"It's interesting. You're an interesting person, Luce."

The princess couldn't help but smile to herself. She'd been thinking the exact same thing about him. "You too, Natsu." When she looked up at him again, he was glancing at her softly. There was a crooked smile on his expression, and it seemed like he was daydreaming. Lucy glanced into his onyx colored eyes, and smiled back at him. She was glad she'd met someone like him. He was a really nice person, and was easily trustable.

"I'm glad we met." Natsu then said, voicing her thoughts.

"Why is it whatever you say I think the same thing?" Lucy then laughed, as he cracked a smile again.

He shrugged. "Maybe you're psychic."

"Pfft. Yeah right."

"Anything's possible." One of his eyebrows were raised.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Sure, but I'm definitely anything _but _psychic."

"That's what's interesting about you!" Natsu then exclaimed, as he finished the rest of his ice cream (cone included). "Luce, you may not know it, but you have a good sense of humor. Sarcasm, is it? Right? I didn't know princesses could be sarcastic. All the princesses I know are the ones like Snow White and Cinderella and yeah. And all of them sing! I don't think you sing though." His eyes twinkled. "I guess I was wrong, then! But maybe you're one of them."

"I'm not!" Lucy laughed. "We're different, in more ways than one."

Natsu smiled. "So you don't sing to birds and faint when you eat apples from old ladies?"

"_No, _you idiot. Those are fairy tales."

He burst out laughing. "I'm just messing with you." Then he looked at the watch that was around his wrist, and groaned. Confused, Lucy looked over to him. He was frowning. "Ugh. I have to go to my dad's business party. He got promoted, or some shit. Apparently, it's important, so I have to be there." He glanced over at Lucy, and he looked pretty upset. "Damn, I wanted to spend more time with you."

Lucy probably blushed at that. But secretly, she agreed with him.

"Well, I've gotta go." Natsu said, sighing. "I feel really bad for leaving you though, but don't you have a carriage or something?"

"I actually do." said Lucy, blinking. "And, no, don't worry about it, Natsu."

He stood up from the bench, and took a step forward. All of a sudden, he stopped moving, and whirled around, looking at Lucy with newfound intensity. He looked slightly nervous — his eyebrows were arched in a way Lucy knew well. She probably knew his emotions well too. He was feeling a bit nervous. Then Natsu opened his mouth to speak. "Will I... Will I see you again?"

At this, Lucy felt herself coloring. She was definitely blushing by now. "Um... Yeah! Of course."

Then Natsu grinned, and it was probably the biggest smile he'd _ever _given to her. It seemed like every part of him was smiling after she had said yes. His dark eyes twinkled, and he bowed to her, jokingly. Lucy laughed, but she was still red. "All right then." He smiled, saluting her, but not before adding, "See you later, Luce!"

"Bye, Natsu." The blonde grinned, as she waved to him.

She was still smiling after he left.

And when her carriage came to pick her up, she was _still _grinning ear to ear.

Yukino was waiting for her, inside. She tilted her head when her adoptive sister came inside, as a matter of fact, still all smiles. Yukino was wearing just a simple white t-shirt with a scoop neck, along with a black skater skirt and calf-high boots. She blinked at Lucy as she took her seat next to her. "Ah, Lucy. How was your date?" She grinned at her.

"It was _wonderful._" Lucy said, dreamily.

Yukino snickered.

Then the blonde realized what she'd said, and turned about five shades of red at the same time.

"IT WAS NOT A DATE!"

"Yeah, and my name's not Yukino Aguria."

At this, Lucy promptly looked away from Yukino, who was definitely laughing now. She was clutching her sides, and as Lucy tried her absolute best to ignore her teary-eyed sister, she glanced outside the window in the carriage and felt her face heating up again.

"... _Shut up_."

* * *

**A/N: **aaahhh and i'm done! this chapter was fun to write. nevertheless, i'm so so sorry about the late update! /sob

hope you enjoyed though!

-choco xx


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